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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Mission is a mystery. This mystery comes from the very heart of God. God sent

His Son, the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit. God sent His Son out of love for

humanity. There is mission because love flows from the heart of God to all creation. God

draws all human being to Himself into eternal happiness. This love awakens human being

to long for intimacy with God and with other human being. It is the will of God that man

and woman seek Him and find him to enjoy His eternal presence.

“Missionary activity is nothing other and nothing less than the manifestation or

epiphany of God’s plan and its fulfillment in the world and in history; in this history God

by means of missions, clearly accomplishes the history of salvation.” 1 Thus church must

follow the path in order to achieve this goal.

A. Background of the Study

In 1969, the Vatican Council II calls all the institutes or Congregation to review

its document to examine its historical foundation. In response to the changes of

Vatican Council II, the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the ‘Sacro

Costato’ and of the Sorrowful Mother (MSC) has made a variety of efforts to look

into the charism received by its Founder, Fr. Eustachio Montemurro, its

faithfulness to this charism and its different expressions. From there, the

Congregation has since revised and updated many aspects of its way of life
1

John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio {Pasay, Philippines: Daughter of St. Paul, 1992), p. 41.
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including prayer and community life, apostolic activities, and religious formation

and continued to reflect on its charism through its General Congregation every six

years. The introduction of the cause of canonization of its Founder, Fr. Eustachio

Montemurro is another event which has also necessitated a review of the

Congregation’s life in 1992. The Congregation has brought forth many documents

about him that can energize and inspire the young members and re-invigorate the

older members of the Congregation is its definitive identification of Jn. 19:31-37

as the scriptural foundation of the MSC. The passage reads:

Since it was a day of preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from

remaining on the cross on the Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked
Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken
away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the
other who has been crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus
and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one
of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out
blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness his testimony is true,
and he knows that he tells the truth – that you also may believe. For
these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled. “Not a bone
of him shall be shall broken.” And again another scripture say, “They
shall look on him whom they have pierced” {Jn 19:31-37}2

The Congregation is able to find the well-spring of its life and works through the

contemplation of Jesus in this Gospel text. In the writing of Fr. Montemurro Jn. 19:31-37

was not mention but he constantly exhorted the MSC to gaze upon the Pierced Side of

Christ. Since there is no other sacred passage mentions on the piercing of the side of

Christ after His death, the MSC has rooted it self on this sacred passage. This is where

Montemurro must have focused his prayer; the wound of the Sacred Side is his resting

place in which the blood and water of Christ may flow over him. Following his examples

` The New American Bible. Makati City: St. Pauls, 1995

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and directives, the MSC continues to focus its reflection on the sacred text. The

Congregation must not only review its document but also the account in Jn.19:31-37

which forms the core of its charism.

To carry out an effective evangelization the Missionary Sisters of the Sacro

Costato, they need to recapture the deep meaning of their Gospel vocation in the Church.

This will help them to be faithful to the spirit of the founder and charism of the

congregation which rooted in the Gospel of St. John 19:34. The apostolic work of the

Missionary Sisters of the Scaro Costato flows out from the contemplation of the pierced

side of Christ.

The MSC was founded on May 1, 1908 in the town of Gravina, in Puglia Italy by

a diocesan priest, Father Eustachio Montemurro. He intended that the sisters will assist to

the teaching of Christian doctrine and work for the integral education of the poor

families. From Gravina the work spread to other areas when bishops from nearby

dioceses requested help from the congregation. As of now the Congregation has sent out

missionaries and established communities in other countries as well namely; Taiwan,

United States, Philippines, Ecuador, Albania, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam and China.

B. Statement of the Problem

“Today’s world is expecting to see in consecrated men and women the concrete

reflection of Jesus’ way of acting His love for every person without distinction or

qualification.”3 Thus, this study will try to answer the following questions:

Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL),
Starting a Fresh from Christ: a Renewed Commitment to Consecrated Life in the Third Millennium (Pasay
City, Philippines: Pauline’s Publishing House, 2002), no. 89, p. 8.
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1. How does MSC understands Jn.19:31-37 as the foundation of the charism of

the founder?

2. What is the contemporary interpretation of the biblical text?

3. How these new insights enrich the life and mission of MSC? What areas of its

life and mission can benefit these insights?

C. Significance of the Study

“Missionary activity is nothing other and nothing less than the manifestation or

epiphany of God’s plan and its fulfillment in the world and in history….”4 The Gospel is

pushing us to live a coherent life of Jesus. Only in living a coherent life of Jesus we can

only manifest God’s plan. Vatican Council II insists on the obligation of the religious to

be faithful to the spirit of their founders. The charism of a religious congregation provide

interior driving force to a creative expressions of Christ call. By being true to the charism

the congregation remains true to itself. And for the institutes to sustain their desire to be

true to their charism, they have to accept it as their own and identify with it. Constant

evaluation is needed and must be done by congregation not only as a whole but also as

individual members so that each may deepen their understanding of the charism

This study hopes to promote greater understanding and appreciation of the

centrality of the Gospel text Jn 19:31-37 in the life and mission of the MSC.

The study aims to help transmit the charism of MSC’s Founder and the

Congregation itself during the initial formation of the younger sisters and succeeding

generations who may desire to deepen their under4standing of their charism for personal

John Paul II, Redmptoris Missio, (Pasay City, Philippines: Daughters of St. Paul, 1992), 41
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growth and perseverance in their religious life. It also attempts to respond to the

persistent mandate of the Church for religious institutes to be faithful to their founding

charism.

D. Scope and Limitation of the Study

The researcher limits her study on the writings of the founder and other MSC

documents where references and reflections on any part of Jn. 19:31-37 are found and

major exegetical works on the aforementioned biblical text. The study also examines

most of the pertinent MSC documents which discuss Jn. 19:31-37 and the wider Passion

narrative in John. This thesis will also examine the biblical exegesis of biblical scholars.

It examines several major works on the text but is limited to works available in English.

E. Review of Literature and related Studies

John Paul II. Vita Consecrata: Apostolic Exhortation on the Consecrated Life and its
Mission in the Church and in the World. Pasay City: Daughters of St. Paul,
1996.
This exhortation expresses that consecrated life is at the very heart of the church
and a gift of the Holy Spirit to the church. Consecrated persons are in mission by virtue
of their very consecration, and total dedication, through which the loving and saving
presence of Christ in the world is made visible. With the rich material offered in this
Apostolic Exhortation, the three main aspects of Consecrated Life: consecration and
mission are revealed. The consecrated life is an intimate partner of mission of the church.
It is relevant to the thesis.

Missionary Sisters of the Sacro Costato and of the Sorrowful Mother, Constitutions,
Rome, 1999.

The Constitutions of MSC Congregation contain the characteristic aspects of the

member’s vocation and mission in the church. This document stresses on the nature of the
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apostolic life of the congregation. It also touches other articles that are related to the
study.

Delia Trianni. Eustachio Montemurro: Servant of God. Rome, 2004.

The book is about the life of Eustachio Montemurro and the contemporary
situation of southern Italy during his lifetime. It contains the origin of the charism of the
Congregation, its mission and spirituality. It is relevant to the thesis.

Ed. Alfredo Marranzani SJ and Delia Trianni, MSC: Diario Spirituale 1904-1905.
Rome, 1988.

The book is about the writing of MSC’s Founder. It contains the genesis of
Montemurro’s charism, his reflections on the Johannine text, particularly the flow of
blood of water from the side of Jesus and the works that grew out of this contemplation.
This is very relevant to the thesis because the researcher can have a good grasp of
Montemurro’s thoughts on Jn. 19:31-37.

Missionary Sisters of the Sacro Costato and of the Sorrowful Mother, General
Congregation (GC XIII), Rome, 2001.

The recent General Congregation simply reflects an uninterrupted yet

progressively deepening awareness of the same understanding and living out the charism
of the congregation this also help the researcher in the study.

Koester: Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel: Meaning, Mystery, Community:

Augsburg Fortress, 1995.

The author discuss the symbolic language of John’s Gospel and give renewed
attention to the way we recognize symbols of the text to the structure of symbolism and
to its relationship to the literature of antiquity. It gives special attention to the Johannine
presentation of Jesus’ death and stress the centrality of the cross for understanding
symbolic language throughout the language.
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F. Conceptual Framework.
The study is about the significance of John 19:31-37 to the life and mission of the
Missionary Sisters of the Sacro Costato and of the Sorrowful Mother. The schematic
presentation of the conceptual framework presents the significance of John 19:31-37 in
the life and mission of MSC.
1. The contemplation of Jn.19:31-37 has shaped and influenced the spirituality
of the MSC from the moment Montemurro received his founding inspiration
until the present day.
2. Montemurro’s spirituality is greatly influenced by his personal history,
particularly his vocation and ministry during the twentieth century in southern
Italy. These factors led him to associating the flow of blood and water with the
devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which he calls the Eucharistic heart of
Jesus.
3. The identity of the MSC as missionary is defined in its GC VII as a response
to the evangelist word in v.35 ‘he testifies so that others may believe
4. The MSC’s documents reveal a continuing reflection, deepening appreciation
and an evolving understanding of the text, particularly on the symbolism of
the flow of blood and water. This influences their spirituality and apostolate
until today.
5. An active love is necessary in the life of the members of the Congregation in
order to live a life of reparation.
6. The MSC must also take active part and unite itself in the mission of
redemption and the proclamation of the reign of God, contributing toward the
growth of the Church.
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Schematic Presentation of Conceptual Framework

Missionary
Sisters of the
Sacro Costato

Reflection,
Witnesses of deepening
God’s Love appreciation
through and an
Apostolate evolving
understanding

Active love and

Reparation as
participation in
the mission of
the church
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G. Definition of Terms
The researcher will use the following terms as a main points:
Mission: Its primary meaning is “sending”5 and in the deepest thrust of biblical
and Christian religion there has been a repeated sense of the sending of men by God to do
his business in the world. Mission refers “to a central function of the church”6 that is
mandated by Christ Himself. The Church mission is thus central to its identity as the
community founded on the apostles. “Mission is a sort of continuation of the Incarnation;
the church becomes a partner of Jesus and the Spirit in the mission Dei; mission is a
Trinitarian reality, an epiphany of God’s plan of salvation revealed in Christ in the
outpouring of the Spirit (AG 9), acting in mysterious ways even beyond the boundaries of
the church.”7
Charism: comes from the Greek word”Charisma” which means “free gift from
God”. I t is a gift of life giving spirit, is always dynamic reality, a source of the life and
activity.8, a spiritual power given by God; a personal quality that enables an individual to
influence his fellow,9.
Reparation: means to” repair” or “amend”, or compensation as for war damage,10
For MSC, the spirit of love and reparation animates the life and apostolic action in the
church. This reparation can be done repeatedly in each celebration of the Holy Eucharist
which becomes the center of the daily life offering. “Reparation can be done in an

Karl Rahner, ed., Encyclopedia of Theology (New York: Seabury Press, 1975), p. 967.
6

Peter M.J. Stravinskas, ed., Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia (Indiana, 1998), p. 675.
7

Domingo Moraleda, Handout on An Introduction to Missiology, 1st Semester, 2008-2009, Institute of

Consecrated Life in Asia, Quezon City, p 1.
8

John M. Lozano, Foundresses, Founders, and their Religious Families (Manila: Claret Center for
Resources in Spirituality, 1983), p.92.
9

Webster’s English Dictionary (Scotland: Geddes and Grosset David Dale House, 2001}, p.62.
10

Ibid… p.316
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attitude of prayer and worship for the evil and the sins committed against God’s law and
the good of the neighbor.”11
Symbolism: A symbol is an image, an action, or a person that has understood to
have transcendent significance. In Johannine terms, symbols span the chasm between
what is “from above” and what is “from below” without collapsing the distinction.
Johannine symbolism is concentric, with Jesus at its heart; he has a unique role as the one
who reveals God.12

H. Methodology
This study uses a historical method research and the researcher makes her
research in the library of ICLA as the main source of materials needed in the study. The
researcher will also use the documents of the church, theological reflections, handouts,
class lecture in order to get more data and further study. Other resources are the
congregation’s Constitutions, norms, some General chapters’ documents, writing of the
founder.

I. Division of Thesis
This study has five chapters.
The first chapter serves as an introduction to the entire thesis. The focus of study is
presented in the statement of the problem. The significance of the study is spelled out.
The scope and limitation set the parameters of this work. The review of related literature
and conceptual framework are appropriated described. In the definition of terms is meant
to clarify some words and terms. Finally the methodology used and the division of thesis.
The primary focus of chapter two is the reflection of the congregation in the
imagery of the flow of blood and water from the pierced of Jesus. This chapter will

11

C.O.R. Program for the Consecration of the Filipino People to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the
Sanctification of Priest and Renewal of Christian Life (Makati, Metro Manila: Bahay Maria Press, 2003-
2004), p. 13.
12
Craig R. Koester, Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel: Meaning, Mystery, Community (Augsburg
Fortress, 1995), pp.4-5.
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present how the contemplation of this image has shaped and influenced the spirituality of
the MSC from the moment Montemurro received his founding inspiration until this day.
The third chapter will present the theological reflection of the present day biblical
scholar, their understanding, reflection and interpretation of the biblical text.
The fourth chapter examines how the MSC understanding and the exegesis of
biblical scholar can enrich their life and mission
The fifth chapter will cover the summary, findings and recommendations.